autism

This video shows what the world can look like for someone who has autism

We’ve found a very special video. It might not seem like it at first, because it shows a child with a stuffed animal who walks into a shopping centre. But when the boy comes across a photo booth, it all goes wrong. The boy turns out to be autistic, and all of the sensory stimuli become too much for him. His mother is visibly annoyed.

Stimuli
For this boy, the stimuli consist of terrifying faces, deafening sounds and blinding lights. The video was made by the National Autistic Society in England to show what it’s like to have autism to people who don’t. And as far as we’re concerned, they definitely reached their goal. We immediately appreciate much more how intense living with autism must truly be.

Spectrum
Just to be clear, we want to emphasise that there are many different types of autism. Together, those types are called the autism spectrum. With this video, the National Autistic Society mainly focuses on the sensory sensitivity of children with autism. Not all people who are autistic will recognise themselves in the video, but many others might.

Irritation
In the video, the boy eventually loses grip and you can see how freaks out in the shopping centre. People look at the boy with irritation and quickly walk on. The video ends with a very clear statement: “I’m not naughty. I’m autistic.” Watch the video below, and have a think: would you be able to reach the end of the shopping centre when everything feels like this? The video has gone viral, and we understand why: it’s very confronting, but also enlightening. We definitely recommend watching it!

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